Harry Potter and the Crimson King
by Swiftdeath
Summary: An Au 4th year story, Harry is hit with an AK and survives again, this time in a much different form, No Slash, HarryMany,
1. The Green Flame

Harry Potter and the Crimson King

Prologue – The Green Flame

Authors Note – This is my first serious attempt at a story. I do not own Harry Potter or any character in the Harry Potter world, that's all JK Rowling's stuff; I'm just borrowing it for a while. Next chapter will be out next week and will be considerably longer. Enjoy.

Harry shivered despite the sun blaring down on him; a chill ran down his spine as he gazed down on the students below. The Beaubatons carriages were being dragged by the elegant horses, whose wings reflected the sun high above. Harry watched the students fly off into the distance, and immediately felt a deep jealousy. At least they could go back to France and forget this horrible tournament. They could go to sleep forgetting the little island they were leaving, which was about to be covered in darkness.

"He's back. He's fucking back…" Harry said in almost disbelief. It still felt like it hadn't really kicked in. How could Voldemort be back? How could Cedric Diggory be dead? And how could Mad Eye Moody be a crazed Death Eater?!

Harry looked down on the Quidditch pitch. He thanked the stars that the Maze was gone. It was horrible to be reminded of the last night of the tournament. He sighed, and decided it was probably time to start heading down to get the Hogwarts Express. He had enjoyed his last peaceful moment in Hogwarts, even if it was overshadowed by the past events.

"Well, until next year…"

Harry turned from the balcony and started towards the stairs, when a cloaked figure ascended the stairs and raised his wand at Harry. Harry began to reach for his wand, but it was soon banished from him. He watched it spin over the balcony and fall towards the grassy lawns far below. Harry turned to face his attacker, who pulled off the hood of his cloak to reveal his identity.

"Krum?!"

"Not who you where expecting Harry?" He smirked, confident in the current situation, whereas Harry felt completely hopeless.

"You assumed I was possessed in the maze," Krum began, "but that's what I wanted you think. I was helping Crouch, we were a squad sent by Voldemort to help with the resurrection, but we failed in the most crucial part, which I am now going to correct."

Harry started towards Krum "Victor, if you think you're getting away with this…"

"Of course I am Harry, I'm Victor Krum, the world's greatest seeker, the world at my finger tips!" He grinned and leaned back "Well with the help of a certain Dark lord…"

He then cast a curse that crushed all the wind out of his lungs. Harry dropped to the floor, gasping much to Krum's pleasure.

"It's not enough is it Harry? You must know what I mean, the fame, it doesn't quite satisfy. I am expected to just play quidditch for the rest of my life, but that is a fucking insult to my father and those before him. I am a Krum, a warrior. I am not a fucking quidditch playboy and I demand respect."

Harry winced, he was a psychopath, absolutely out of his mind, and Harry knew that psychopaths holding you at wand point rarely ended well. He needed to reason with him.

"But what about Hermione, you really liked…" I started but I was cut off sharply.

"That mudblood! Don't make me laugh Potter, I wouldn't touch her, but it provided a good cover, don't you think? The lovesick foreign boy, it played into my role. I was the one showing Durmstrang wasn't full of dark wizards, quite Ironic. Karakoff thought so, and so did everyone else. You are all so easy to prodict, it's a joke really."

Harry took this moment to charge at Krum, full speed, no holding back. But the Bulgarian is too quick, he knocks Potter onto the ground and spits at him.

"Did you really think you had a chance, you half-blood scum. The Dark Lord will destroy your school, your friends and your entire world!" He said this as spittle flew it out of his mouth, scaring Harry. He looked rabid, with hatred in his eyes that scared Harry to his core. Krum then wiped the spit off his face and straightened his robes.

He's prepared in ways you cannot imagine, I've seen it, his army, and his plans. You have no idea, none of you do. Unfortunately you will never get the chance to see The Dark Lord's full army descending onto Hogwarts." He stood directly in front Harry now, who stood up defiantly.

"Goodbye Potter," Krum said his face twisted in a psychotic sneer "Avada Kedavra!"

The curse flew towards Harry and he knew that this was it, no Hogwarts, no graduation, no wife, no children, no life at all. It was all over, and the green light hit him.

At first Harry thought nothing had happened, he staggered back slightly, but was still there. His hands scrambled over his body, making sure this was real. His hands confirmed he was still alive. He looked up at Krum who also looked in shock, as both wizards' couldn't understand what had happened. Then it hit him.

Fire. All Harry knew where flames, as they licked his entire body. As green as the killing curse, Harry's body began to twist and wretch in pain. He could feel the layers of skin burn as if they where simply paper. It was consuming all of him, his nails scratched at his skin, leaving deep wounds. His erratic movements slowed down as the heat brought Potter to his knees. Unholy screams escaped his burning throat, smoke was pouring off him and even out of his mouth. His clothes were ashes now as he looked up and gave one last shout, one inhuman wretch of pain towards the sky. He then fell to the hard, stone floor. Body smouldering

Krum stepped back in horror, he had no clue what had happened. What had he done?

The body still had flames over it, but Potter was clearly dead. His body had undergone some horrible demon like transformation. As the flames stopped and smoke slowly poured off the body, Krum could see it had changed. The skin was a dark blue colour, and all the muscle and fat that seemed to have burned away.

Krum moved towards the corpse, weary of the rotten deformed …. _Thing_ the 'boy-who-lived' had become. He accidentally breathed in some of the smoke and proceeded to hurl his stomach out, the smell was disgusting. Knowing someone would of heard Harry's scream's, Krum decided it was time to leave, and began towards the spiral staircase, shaking from the incident. He turned to look at the body one last time, despite himself, but found the corpse standing up and looking at him. The blue skin was dragged over rips and his stomach pulled in as if he was holding his breath. Every bone was evident, every joint poked out. But it was the eyes that stopped him; they literally sparked with that killing curse green. He grinned and flew at Krum at an incredible speed. The corpse grabbed the arm and twisted sharply, sending Krum's wand flying and bones erupting from his wrist. He then grabbed Krum's head and smashed it off the battlements of Hogwarts tower until blood and brain began to pour form Krum's smashed open. The burnt face of Potter leaned in towards Krum's, and proceeded to suck a green essence from the body, controlling an unstoppable hunger that had taken over him.

Voices and footsteps could be heard coming from the stairs. The corpse of Potter then chucked itself of the tower, landing on the floor below without any apparent injury, despite such a long fall. He then took off over the grounds with an agility no human possessed and into the covering blackness of the forbidden forest.

This is the beginning of Harry Potter and the story of the Crimson King.

Authors Notes: This is a rewrite of the opening chapter, it wasn't good enough in its first version. This story had previously gone not properly planned and was rushed as I wanted it out as soon as possible.

With some help I have realised the error in my ways and have properly planned this story, which will be quite long. This story will not take place in Hogwarts, it is planned out and a sequel will follow it. The next chapter will also be re-written this week, with a large section added on, I apologize for this chapter being small, but it is only the prologue, all other chapters will be 2 K minimum. I also plan to have a beta at some point.

Thanks again – Xanatos.


	2. Oh yes, there will be blood

Harry Potter and the Crimson King

Chapter 1 – Oh yes, there will be blood

Narcissa Malfoy sat at the most expensive restaurant in all of wizarding France looking almost Veela in beauty. A sparkling silver dress that had a large cut down the side to show off just enough leg to still be called a lady had caught most of the male diners eyes already, to the disproval of many of the female's also dining. She sipped on the bubbly champagne, casually waiting on her husband. He had told his wife that she was to accompany him to France as he had business there. Narcissa knew that Lucuis was almost certainly working on something for the Dark Lord, so she decided to make a heavy dent in his bank account.

Narcissa loathed Voldemort, almost as much as she loathed her husband. He used to be so powerful, so cunning and independent. That was what had drawn her to him, but that part of Lucuis had died when he became a big player in the Death Eaters. Lucius was a lap dog, nothing more, nothing less. Narcissa was a housewife, one with expensive tastes yes, but that was all she had become. She used to have dreams, of adventure and glory, but they had all been destroyed when she had given birth to Draco, the Malfoy heir. From the moment she had given birth to him, she was now his servant, giving Draco everything he desired and training him as a Malfoy. She missed Curse breaking, missed seeing the world and missed excitement. She was bland; she had been dulled, despite her sparkling outward appearance.

The waiter came over and refilled her glass as she stared out the window, contemplating her past. The waiter softly coughed to get her attention, and told her that her gentleman had arrived. She sat up, ready to give Lucius an earful for making her wait for him. Lucius didn't appear however.

A tall, young man sat directly in the seat opposite her. He had very pale skin, which was incredibly smooth, as if it was a baby's and brand new. His hair was long, sticking out all over his head, with a fringe covering his forehead and coming down the side of his head. He was tall, and had a slim muscular build that could be seen through the tight expensive blood red robes he wore. He wore his collar up to cover the side of his face, so only she had a direct of the flirtacious smile he now appeared to her with. She decided to be blunt with this arsehole.

"Excuse me, whoever you are, but you obviously do not know who I am," She began in full steam "So I will ask you to stop this European suave move that obviously works on many a stupid blonde bimbo, of which I am not, and leave before my husband decapitates you or I remove that stupid brain that made you come over here between your legs." She finished by taking another sip of her wine and waiting for his jaw to hit the floor and walk away with his tail between his legs. To her surprise, the young man laughed and clapped his hands, seemingly amused.

"Ahh Narcissa, you do not disappoint, but I am here to disappoint you, I'm afraid," The young man started, whilst pouring himself a glass of the wine " You see, I am actually someone you already know, and I am actually not trying to bed you this evening, much to you're apparent shock." He raised his eyebrows and proceeded to drink from the glass.

Narcissa was lost for words, no-one ever spoke to her and she wasn't exactly sure how to react.

"I know you?"

"Well to be honest, everyone in this restaurant knows me, but they just have not recognised me yet. This is incredibly amusing, as the entire wizarding world is out hunting for me at this moment in time."

A spark clicked in Narcissa's mind, this arrogant young man who had completely left her speechless was Harry Potter. He had been missing for most of the summer and Death Eaters had been hunting him since the attempt on his life had gone wrong at Hogwarts. The light side assumed the Death Eaters had captured Potter and killed Krum, but this was far from the truth.

"Well this is a surprise I must say," She said in a smooth tone, keeping casual to stop her fear from being apparent, she didn't know why he frightened her, but there was something in his voice and appearance that terrified her. "What have you been up to with yourself Potter, playing playboy on a beach somewhere whilst the Order ran around like headless chickens scouring Europe for you?"

"Oh if only that had been the case Narcissa, I'm afraid I've had a much rougher time than you assume. I'm sure you could ask Rudolphus about my escapades in the last couple of weeks." He smiled, knowing he had scared her.

Her sister's husband had met a horrible end; it had seemed he had been attacked by some wild animal. He had been missing for days and was found ripped apart. Narcissa knew however that only Death Eaters knew of his death right now, could Harry Potter of all people really have killed him?

"Look, Harry, as fun as this has been, I'm going to ask you nicely to leave now, before Lucius comes back and has to deal with you." She addressed Harry in the politest way possible when threatening someone.

Harry finished the wine from his glass and sat with his arms folded against his robes. He sighed and looked directly into Narcissa's eyes.

"I knew you would come to the topic of your late husband at some point, oh and I am correct when I saw late, I was the last one to see him after all. I have to apologize Narcissa, I may have been a bit nasty when I saw you're asshole of a husband, you shall have to forgive me." He said as he pulled up his sleeve and his hand changed into a much more beast like hand, with nails turning into claws. Narcissa stood up and staggered back from the table in shock, but quickly regained her composure and in a swift movement drew her wand and banished the table at the still seated Potter.

Harry simply grabbed the table in mid air and chucked it straight back at her. Narcissa was forced to dive out of the way. She looked up from the floor to see the still smiling Potter standing above her offering her a hand to help her up. She threw a particularly nasty cutting curse that infected the wound, but Potter somehow twisted his body backwards and flipped to completely avoid the spell. She proceeded to send a few fireballs at Potter, but he possessed an inhuman agility and grace that allowed him to avoid every spell. With Harry leaping around the room, she found herself getting more and more frustrated, unleashing more and more violent curses. She could see almost all of the other diners had apparated out of the room. She also noticed that potter had disappeared since she blew up a table he had been standing on.

Harry then dropped from the ceiling behind her, grabbed her arm and Narcissa's wand fell to the floor. He held her close to him and whispered in her ear.

"Now is the time to reassess your life. I have a proposition, one that benefits you and me. Sort out your life Narcissa; it'll be worth your while. I'll be in touch." And with that, he turned her round. He leaned in and much to her surprise kissed her on the lips passionately. He stood back winked at her, and just as wizards came bursting through the door, he ran to the windows that made this restaurant so expensive and leaped out. Narcissa and the wizards ran to the window to see big bat wings carry Potter into the Paris Skyline and beyond.

Authors Notes – This chapter is a bit rushed but I want to move on as quickly as possible, next chapter shall be out next week and should be a bit longer. What exactly has happened to Harry within the last few months will be explained later on in the fic. I am not sure if he will return to Hogwarts at the moment.


	3. The Quest Begins

Harry Potter and the Crimson King - The Quest Begins

The four man team quickly produced their wands after the apparition pop, making sure no-one had noticed them. After surveying the area, they began casting strong disillusionment charms on themselves. The leader nodded and they made their way into the packed pub. With little effort they made their way through the pub, gliding past the regulars who had no idea they where even there, and who would have had a huge shock at seeing four figures cloaked in black and hooded walking like a troop of reapers through the venue. Quickly and silently they trooped up the stairs, with the last figure casting a spell to make any one planning on going up the stairs have second thoughts and not bother.

The leader extinguished the lights in the hall, he knew they where in for a tough fight, but they had the element of surprise and fear, which usually worked in their favour. Something wasn't right however. This wasn't how Narcissa Malfoy acted. His superiors thought it was because she was finally alone and scared, but he had other ideas. They had followed her cloaked form to this run down place just off diagon alley and staked her out.

He suspected this was a trap, and so he brought along a little extra firepower than was usually needed for a smash and grab. His men had surrounded the door, ready to cast in all directions of the room, no chances where taken as she could already know they where here. He nodded to Buchan, who knelt in front of the door and began chanting and drawing complex signs in the air. His Lord and many other death eaters enjoyed blasting the door down to add an extra scare but he was not taking his chances tonight. Plus this was a handy trick. The strain was evident on Buchan's face but the end result was worth it. The wood now rippled as the door took on an almost watery effect. It was an obscure but very useful piece of magic which had turned the tide of many a difficult job. He nodded, and Buchan stepped back, ready for the next command. But something kept telling him this was wrong, some edgy feeling. He pushed it aside and stepped through the door, literally.

It was on him in a flash, he had barely stepped out of the door when the figure pounced on him. He felt the flesh in the side of his chest rip open and something connect with his head, his body then thrown into the wall with the force of the blow. Fuck, he knew this wasn't going to be easy. His vision blurred and he could see flashes going off and screams. He tried to grasp a hold of the situation but he still couldn't connect, he had almost been knocked out cold. Then a huge flash and explosion knocked him down again. He looked up to see one of the team kneeling in the middle of the room gasping for air.

"Jones is down, and Buchan's injured, what the fuck was that thing!" Marcus shouted, trying to get back up. He had used his famous firecracker indoors, what ever he had hit wasn't getting up. The whole window and half the wall had been blown up onto Diagon Alley below. The leader looked down at the bricks and rubble, only to see a figure claw his way from the debris of the explosion. Impossible, he thought, a hit from the firecracker and half a wall falling down on you should have killed the…..thing. He could make out his dark skin in against the rubble, and claws that glinted in the night. They needed to kill this creature.

The leader quickly laid out the plan, and apparated to the roof on the other side of the street. Steadying himself on the slates he began casting curses at the creature as the rest of the team positioned itself. A blur of movement flew towards him as the creature threw a brick at him. His movement was sluggish after the blow, and he only just managed to dodge the strike. Buchan, now on the only broom they had brought with them, started sending blasting curses too, allowing Marcus to get in place. Marcus had begun his Animagus transformation, this thing had no chance. Even the leader had to admit it was strange seeing an African white rhino preparing to charge down diagon alley. The creature noticed the now charging Marcus, turned and began to run itself. It could not out pace the rhino however and with Buchan and himself firing curses the thing was trapped, running in a straight line unable to avoid the speeding hulking bulk of muscle.

Then the thing sprouted wings. It leapt gracefully and soared up until it was able to hook a claw onto the bottom of Buchan's broom. He tried in vane to kick the monster off as it hooked its legs round the bottom and began to push it up. It was floating a good thirty feet in the air when the creature had enough and snapped the broom. The leader tried to shoot ropes to catch his team mate but missed and his body bounced on the old cobbled street, then lay still. Next the thing dropped onto Marcus' back and began pounding his eyes. The Rhino was blind and a screaming Marcus transformed back with blood streaming down his face. The figure drew close to the unseeing form of the other Death Eater, and drew out a smoke from him. Marcus fell softly; his body had been shut down. The Leader ran along the roof top, trying to find some help. He leapt over chimneys and scuttled trying to escape. A huge bat like creature swooped down and landed in front of him. He staggered and fell back, sliding down the roof towards the street story's below. The figure grabbed his ankle and held him suspended above Diagon alley and its now bloody street. A firm grasp on his robe pulled him up face to face with the attacker. It seemed impossible, but the thing that had slaughtered his entire elite team was no creature. It had changed and was now nothing but a boy!

His jet black hair jutted out all over his head, partially covering his face and pale white skin. He looked like he almost wasn't there, as if he was an optical illusion, a trick of the light. The boy lifted his head and looked directly into his eyes. The man stopped breathing, it was the Avada Kedavra! In his eyes! And that scar!

"Harry Potter!" he gasped? Could this be real? Harry Potter, with eyes made of flames a deadly green had butchered his crew. He couldn't understand why he was here or why he had done any of it….For Narcissa Malfoy?

Harry lifted him high above his head and tossed him down below. The last Death Eater flew towards the ground, down to join his fallen comrades. Before he could reach it though, he was picked out of midair by Potter. He had reverted back to his horrible demon like form and flew up high above the street below. He then growled at the leader.

"Is that all of your team dead?" The leader nodded before gasping as his wand was snapped and he was dropped. He fell for several seconds before landing through the roof of a building.

The loud crash confirmed Harry had kept his part of the deal up. He just hoped Narcissa had done the same.

He quickly flew away from the alley. He had heard distant apparition pops and was sure it was the Aurors investigating. It wouldn't do him a lot of good to have to fight them off just now, he was tired and bruised. Plus he didn't want anyone to know he had been here. Everyone had to think he was missing; it made things a lot easier. Not that they would recognise him in this form.

He picked up speed and flew above the clouds, to draw less attention to his flying form. He followed the directions Narcissa gave him, occasionally turning to stay on track of things. He flew down below the clouds once he was out of the city and above the motorway until he reached the right turnoff. He flew left for another half hour until he saw a red flash coming from the middle of a clearing. No-one would be able to see it from ground level but the red pulsing light was clear from his air-born position. He descended slowly, wary of being caught out by a trap. He landed high in a tree close to the clearing to get a view and check everything seemed alright. Looking from a high branch, there was no-one to be seen in the clearing. Something wasn't right. Narcissa had told him the team would be here with her ready to leave the country. If she had screwed him over there would be hell to pay after all he had done for her. On the other side of the clearing, a tall blonde figure emerged from the woods. It looked like Narcissa, but something was wrong about this, he could feel it. A slither of movement behind him forced him into action. He spun on the spot slashing at the figure and leapt with all the power in his legs.

He twisted in the air to avoid a curse and landed crouched in the clearing. A blasting curse flew at him from his left despite no-one being there. Before he could react half his body was encased in ice and he was trapped.

"I thought he would at least be a challenge!" Some cocky voice exclaimed as Harry's mind frantically searched for a plan. He smashed his only free hand against the ice as hard and fast as he could, pounding on the trap until he could rip himself free. He broke off a particularly sharp icicle and chucked himself to the side as another curse came from an invisible user and shattered the rest of the glacier. He threw the shard swiftly where the spell had emitted from, and was relieved to here a cry and blood spill out of his invisible attacker's body. Before he could make his next move however, a wand tip was pressed sharply into the back of his head.

"Not another move or I blast you're brains all over the beautiful grass here." A female voice growled, as Harry was swiftly body binded and the grass he fell onto grew to an enormous length wrapping itself around Harry's paralysed body. The woman then stepped on his chest and leant down to whisper in his ear.

"Even if you do somehow manage to break out of my body bind with that impressive strength of yours," She whispered as she bent down to speak in his ear, "The minute you try to twist out of the grass you'll be cut to ribbons…." She trailed off as she stepped off him and began to walk away. Unable to move, Harry lay trapped, with nothing but the red pulsing orb for him to see. He couldn't believe he had been captured so easily. He took deep breathes to focus himself, took a deep a big intake of air deep into his lungs and began to focus. He pushed out all the rage he could, trying to make the anger flow through his veins and burst out his pours. His body began to physically shake. The blade grass holding him down tightened its grip cutting into his now deformed body. His skin turned that bruised blue and his bone structure changed to make him a much more capable killer. Green flames burst from his body, killing the grass that had enslaved him and all the other plant life, creating a circle of death around him. He crouched, ready to pounce at any movement, and growled in anger.

"That's enough for now." Narcissa stated as she marched into the clearing, this time not an illusion. "Come and meet your team mates Harry!" He stood once again with elegance and grace, reverting back to his more human form.

"Narcissa, is this some kind of game to you? We had a deal!" He spat at her. He may not have been in his demon like form, but he was just as cold and just as angry. Narcissa simply tutted and signalled for the 'team' to come out. He was introduced to five people in all. Firstly there was a tall, bald headed man. He stood a good foot over Harry and peered down at him with ice cold blue ices. He was introduced as Antoli Romanov, a hired mercenary who had worked with Narcissa before. He merely nodded at Harry whilst still piercing him with his glare. The next person was Christie Saunders, an American hit wizard who apparently favoured elemental and naturalistic magic, who happened to be the woman who had caught Harry in a few of her spells. She nodded and smiled, already confident that she was better than him. Harry planned to change her mind about that.

An Asian man stepped forward next, heavily cloaked with a dark hood pulled over his head. He introduced himself as Kisame, and explained that he had once been an expert in dark objects. He pulled down his hood and rolled up his sleeves. Imbedded over his skin where tiny pieces of a diamond like glass. He explained he had been investigating a dark orb when it had exploded next to him. Some of the orb and been permanently placed in his skin, mostly his hands and the left side of his face. He also found he couldn't cast spells with a wand anymore, but when he touched something he could make magical things happen. He promised to show Harry exactly what he meant on the expedition.

The next he was introduced to two Scottish twins, a man and a woman. Greg and Claire Daily where dark creature hunters who where especially good with werewolves and vampires, and had studied at Hogwarts. Apparently they would be greatly needed where they were going. Claire stated she was the better hunter, whilst Greg was great at tracking anything, be it human or beast.

Narcissa has done well, Harry thought to himself. This team seemed professional, all experts in their individual fields. Narcissa had briefed them all on where they were going and explained what the mission would be. Harry knew the next stage of his life had begun. But before he could ask when they where leaving, Narcissa called for someone else to come out. Harry was shocked to see someone from Hogwarts walking across the clearing holding his wand. Especially considering that it was Daphne Greengrass. He turned to Narcissa, who simply smirked.

"You have got to be kidding, if you think she's coming with us."

"It's the only way I could get your wand back Harry. I've known Miss Greengrass for years, she is bored at Hogwarts. She finds the school as a nuisance and wants to explore the world. She was learning magic before Hogwarts and she feels she is capable of handling herself and sees' this as the opportunity. Daphne was the one to collect your wand from Dumbledore's office, and this was her price for getting it. She wouldn't take no for an answer. She was put into Slytherin for a reason Harry." Harry wasn't just going to accept this. This was his mission, and she was not going to hold them up.

"Greengrass, how much do you want for my wand?" He asked her, being as polite as possible.

"You already know my price, Potter, it is not negotiable. I need this as much as you do. I am an apprentice under Miss Saunders now, and I must learn my trade under her. I don't like you, you don't like me. I get it. But I am on this mission, whether you like it or not." The little wench had prepared that speech, he was sure of it. No matter.

"You don't know were we are going or what we are doing. You will do nothing except hold us back." Before he could finish the sentence she used the same Ice spell Saunders had used earlier on, obviously her apprenticeship was going well. He jumped to the side and leapt at her with lightning pace. She apparated onto a high branch of a tree to escape him and began animating the tree, making the braches act like whips to stop Harry.

Whigs burst out of his back mid-leap and he picked up speed flying towards her. He easily bulleted through the branches, smacking them out of the way trying to get to his target. She apparated again at the last second, and Harry slammed into the tree. He kicked off again and flew back towards the clearing, where she stood using blasting curses against him, but failing to hit his fast moving body. He pressed his wings tight against his body, streamlining himself ready to strike at her. A blur of movement to her side distracted him, and before he could react Kisame had put a hand on his forehead.

He was again lying face down on the ground, body bound. But all Kisame had done was touch him. He couldn't understand how he had managed to stop him and paralyse him. Narcissa entered his field of vision, a frown heavily imprinted onto her face.

"This isn't school. Mess around like this where we are going and you will die. You are team mates now. Accept it and move on." She turned and walked away, allowing Daphne and Harry to finally get up. Daphne had a look of fear when she caught Harry looking at her. So, she hadn't seen his transformation before. No wander she was scared. He walked away disgusted with himself. He had let his anger get the better of him. He couldn't understand why he seemed to be losing his humanity. He was becoming more and more like a monster. He saw the rest of the team look at him and Daphne, seriously unimpressed. He put his head down, determined to win their respect now. These people who he was depending to have his back and he was supposed to have theirs thought of him as nothing but a spoiled child. He was going to show them who he really was.

Christie had finished telling Daphne off and pulled out a pebble from her pocket. This was their portkey, the first step of their expedition. The team assembled, all placing a hand on the smooth rock. Harry placed his own hand on, ready to prove himself. This was his chance to finally fight for himself. He heard the words activate and felt the pull on his stomach. He was now spinning towards Romania. The mission to destroy Voldemort had begun. Harry knew his biggest challenge had begun.

Authors Note - Thank you for being patient, during the (huge!) break between chapters I've been working two jobs and finishing high school. I didn't just want to pick at a chapter over a few months so when I could I wrote notes and when I finally had some free time I managed to sit down and write it.

The length is improved, which I am much happier with, but I will still try and improve on that. I'm also finding the writing is flowing a lot more easily, especially with the plan to help me along the way.

The location of this mission has been researched but will be mostly fictional, as due to the magical village and…. Well other things.

Please review if you get the chance. It lets me know my audience is enjoying/bored by the ride.

Thank you for being patient, for more discussion visit where I finally think I will properly post this as it's beginning to have shape.


	4. In The Belly Of A Shark

Ideas for story

Disclaimer: Not mine, chapter title is a Gallows song

Harry Potter and The Crimson King - In The Belly Of A Shark

They had portkeyed in and immediately began setting up a magical tent, one that would have put the Weasleys house to shame. It was minimalist but well furnished, providing all the room and equipment they would need for as long as they had to stay here. It was bitterly cold, snow blanketing the entire forests. They had spent the night sleeping in their individual beds; Harry had trouble actually dozing off however.

He lay in his bed staring back at the eyes staring at him. Greengrass lay there looking over at him, feigning sleep. But he had vision much better than a human, even in the darkness he could tell her eyes hadn't left his 'sleeping' form.

I probably terrified her, he justified. It's hard to imagine that I used to be the golden boy of Gryffindor. I am a shadow of the saviour I was once viewed to be. She knows what I am now. A monster. A killer. He turned in his bed, but still felt the eyes burning a whole in his back.

He wandered what his team mates thought of him. Kisame seemed like a nice person, even interested in his abilities and genuinely seemed to want to train him, and help him with his magic. The rest thought he was a child and a monster, and they where partly right. Harry didn't feel human anymore, it didn't help with the attacks coming more regularly now. The only time he felt more complete was when he drew the essence, the smoke from an enemy. It made the aching in his muscles stop, made his head stop pounding, made him not feel sick.

Harry sat up as he heard hushed voices from outside and immediately knew they had been found. He didn't even have time to signal the rest of the team. Grabbing his wand he let from his bed just as the sides of the tent where ripped open and dragged away, leaving them open. Harry could make out black figures surrounding where the tent had been moments ago. Some stood on the forest floor, others on branches high above, making it impossible for the team to have decent cover. All the Death Eaters had their wands pointed at Harry, ready to fire as soon as he started a spell. Harry was crouched on the floor, pointing his wand at the enemy in this suicidal standoff. Despite the rest of the team being good wizards and witches, they couldn't win this fight. The Death Eaters had pulled this move off expertly, executing it with great timing and movement. Harry's team had no where to go, they where surrounded, but it wasn't the same case for him.

Quickly pointing his wand at the nearest tree he screamed a blasting curse and tried to push as much magic as possible into it. A light spell flew at the tree and caused a slight dent in the bark. He hung his head in shame, as the choruses of laughter surrounded him.

"This is how it should be done, you fucking squib!" A death eater shouted, his thick accent then repeating the _ventalo brius _command. The spell hit the ground just in front of Harry lifting him into the hair in a cloud of dirt and smoke. He hit a tree hard and slid down, his body scratched and red. He pointed his wand again at the tree where the spell had come from and uttered the same spell, this time totally calm, in control.

The spell lit up the forest, blinding eyes that had adjusted to the dark. The resulting explosion rocked the area, everyone near the tree was blown of their feet, wild magical fire spread onto the trees. The area looked as if a bomb had gone off, before the Death Eaters knew what was happening, Harry's crew moved, running away in separate directions.

He led her up the rock face, practically dragging her, his feet turning blue from the snow. They made slow movement up the mountain, Harry exhausted, that spell had taken a lot out of him, and she was still in shock.

He drew in deep ragged breaths, trying to keep moving, knowing that if they stopped they were dead. His body was turning a bluish colour now too, having only a pair of boxers on didn't help matters. It hurt to carry on, every movement making a strain on his tired and sore muscles. He had to carry on. For both their sake, he kept dragging her up the slope, she was still pulling at his arm, wanting to go back. She wanted to fight, she wanted to kill, but he continued dragging her, his superior strength forcing her to follow him.

They hadn't run into anyone for a while, the trees covering their position well. After a long time scrambling up the hard ground, Harry found a secluded cave, well hidden. It had been pure luck and he quickly got himself and Daphne inside. Once he was deep enough he got her to conjure some wood and start a fire to keep them warm. He checked outside, making sure none of the search parties that would obviously out there looking for them could see the dancing flames. Tired, cold and miserable, he dragged himself back into the cave back towards an angry Daphne. She started pacing the room angrily, glaring at Harry.

"You had no right to stop me Potter, you stopped me getting my revenge. Listen to me you little fucker, you had no idea how much Christie meant to me! I had every right to castrate and then kill the fuckers that got her, but you knock me out and drag me here. Why?"

Harry sat still on the floor staring into the fire as she ranted and raved. He let her call him every file name she could think of, he even let her slap him and punch him when he wouldn't answer her right away. She went to kick him in the ribs, but he caught her leg and pulled her down before she could hit him. He pulled her leg away causing her to fall down and sat on top of her. He changed his form and grabbed her arms, holding them tightly against the floor. Finally he bent down to stare her directly in the eyes, letting his wings flare out to catch her attention, not that he really needed too.

"You will get your revenge." He said to her in a quiet voice, and she couldn't help but notice his teeth had taken on a more canine form. He looked positively evil, like a very demon from hell. His skin was leathery, the darkest of blues like the bottom of the ocean. His nails where long and sharp, and could easily rip open her skin. The strength he displayed was also terrifying. Despite his rips painfully showing, his stomach seeming to cave in and the lack of any real defined muscle, his grip was unimaginable, his hands where vices on her wrists. He let her go, and stood up, dusted himself off and walked to watch the mountain from the edge of the cave, leaving Daphne to her thoughts.

The world had been thrown into chaos after Harry's spell had blown up half the forest. She was thrown from her feet, and slid in the snow till she was stopped by another body. Twisting in the snow, the slytherin quickly cast a stunner to stop the body reacting, she picked herself up and broke into a sprint, trying to escape the overwhelming numbers of the Death Eaters. She saw Christie up ahead, casting a charm that caused ice to form round the mouth and nose. Daphne used the old faithful disarming curse to ensure he wouldn't escape the horrible death her mentor had inflicted.

Christie turned and nodded at Daphne, signalling her to follow. They ran together quickly casting looks behind when curses flew in their direction. They ran past the remains of half a dozen death eaters, and saw one of the twins had been killed also. Daphne stopped shocked, but her teacher pulled her on and they made swift progress from the noise and light that showed the battle was continuing. This had already been gone over, if they where ambushed the experienced team members would stay and fight, while Christie, Narcissa, Daphne and Potter escaped to ensure the mission could carry on. It was a risky strategy, but necessary if the mission was going to be successful.

They ran breathless for at least a minute before the Death Eaters made their appearance. She felt a smack in the back of her head, dazing her and knocking her to the ground. She sprawled and saw the rock bounce away, obviously banished to stop her. Christie screamed _Vertollis, _with a huge blast of wind stopping their followers from continuing. She reached down to pull her up, but stopped half way. A small trickle of crimson red blood dropped from her move, her eyes glazed as her body began to fall. Daphne had reached up desperately, trying to catch her, tears already streaming down her eyes. It was too late however, as the body continued to fall. Several metal needles where imbedded in Christie's now still back, focused around the heart and lungs. Daphne tried desperately to get them out, pulling at them and sobbing. She turned Christie over, slapping her, trying to wake her up.

As she became more and more hysterical, the Death Eater that has killed her mentor slowly dropped from the tree he had fired from and walked to wards the girl. She was beautiful, yes, but with little world experience, he could tell. She wasn't prepared for this, and therefore wasn't fit to survive. He raised his wand and pointed it at her now sobbing form. Beginning the incantation that would end her life, he noticed too late that her wand was actually pointing at him, despite her sobbing into her sleeve. Before he could react, she stared at him with a rage that twisted her face into a horrible mask, silently casting a flame throwing spell that ignited his clothes and charred his skin. He screamed as long as his blackened throat was able to and then lay still. She stood up and began casting random dark and elemental spells at the Death Eaters approaching, attracted by the screams. She wasn't even picking her targets anymore, the anger had glazed over her eyes, and everything moving had to be destroyed.

The Death Eaters where well trained, seeing this girl and knowing she had lost control, they slowly spread out, ready to attack from all sides, taking her down swiftly. There was one thing they hadn't counted on however, a certain boy who could see everything they where doing.

He flew up and just as quickly dropped, pressing the wings tight against his body. The ground loomed before him, constantly drawing nearer whilst the wind battered his body, but he stayed on course, streamlining towards the ever closer ground. At the last possible moment, his instincts screamed at him and he opened his wings against the opposing force and pulled up, swooping like a giant black bat barely across the ground. He tackled and took off with her before the Death Eaters could get a spell on target. They where safe, he knew no-one would follow them on broom. He had already taken care of them. He flew towards the mountains not far away, with Daphne pounding on his back and screaming bloody murder the whole time.

It had taken hours to get up the mountain, but now that they where in relatively safe place, they needed to sort out what they where going to do. They had only been in the area four days, and most of it had been scouting, trying to find the Dark Lords base of operations here, and the location of the dark artefact, a secret that Voldemort had hidden and protected well. It was only because of Narcissas investigative skills and former place high in the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's servants that they had any idea about it at all. Narcissa had been able to understand that a secret of how he was able to be still tied to this world was here in this location. If they where able to find out about this, then they could possibly find a way of undoing this unnatural magic and destroy him this time for good. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to find the location or any clues so far, and then the attack had happened. The few days they had been here had been used searching in vain for his base of operations, but with little luck. And now, trapped in a cave, split up from the rest of the team, Daphne and Harry where being searched for by teams of dark wizards with years of experience and knowledge of the landscape. In other words, they were fucked.

Harry stood a little away from Daphne, his back turned away from her, facing the entrance. He needed to find a way to contact the rest of the team, if they where still alive. He needed a plan, some guidance from someone who knew what they were supposed to do. He was a school child, thrust into a world he didn't fully understand or feel a part of. This was too much for him to handle. He needed help.

The three figures stood intently at the cave entrance, waiting for him to notice them. They had been completely silent, and were hardly picked up by the light. Harry noticed the shadows, and immediately transformed. Crouched on all fours, with his wings spread and eye's dancing dangerously in the darkness. His claws dug into the stone ground of the cave, ready to brawl if any move to attack was made.

The middle figure held his hand up to stop the young Potter from attacking. He stepped forward into the light, and revealed himself. He stood about 7 feet tall, and his body was ancient. Old armour glad onto his cracked and coarse skin, he looked like a corpse that had been repeatedly killed, but kept on coming back for more. Drawing back at the shock of his opponent, Harry almost gasped, not knowing who or what this abomination was. Twin fangs glinted as the figure smiled, knowing the terror and fear that had began to build in his heart. Daphne let out a small scream, before thrusting out her shaking wand in the general direction of the monster. Harry briefly turned to look at her, nodded, and took off in an explosion of dust and stone as he raced towards the knowing smile of his enemy.

Authors note: Well, I'm sorry it took this long, but it's finally out. This chapter was very difficult to write, but sets up the direction of the rest of the story. I have had a lot going on recently, and writing fan fiction was the last thing on my mind I'm afraid. But after a turbulent few months I feel I have been able to finish this chapter and move on with this story.

I realise quite a few people will be put off by the pace of this fic, but I have been put off by the snail like pace of others, and this is reflected in my writing.

I hope you have kept tabs on this story, and please review, your opinions do matter!


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